


Signs of life

by Elisexyz



Series: Febuwhump 2021 (The Witcher) [1]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: F/M, Hurt Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Soft Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29359410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: “You should get some sleep,” she says, her voice somehow softer than her touch. “You will feel better after.”
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Febuwhump 2021 (The Witcher) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170314
Comments: 16
Kudos: 49
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Signs of life

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the "I can't see" prompt for day 18 of Febuwhump, though it came out really soft for some reason LOL. Anyway, the characterization is a little bookish, but I think it should work for the series too if you imagine it set in some unspecified moment after the canon that we're shown in s1. Enjoy!

For a second, as he wakes up surrounded by darkness, he doesn’t even realize anything is wrong, his thoughts somehow hazy and the tiredness deep in his bones urging him to let himself drift back to sleep.

The problem arises when he tries to blink and he realizes many things in rapid sequence: his eyes burn, half of his face is a world of hurt, there’s something brushing against his eyelashes as he blinks and he still can see _nothing at all_.

Panic comes all at once, flooding his chest and kicking his instincts to fight in motion. His attempt at sitting up and yanking away whatever it is that he can feel on his face – and that he _prays_ is the only thing keeping him from seeing anything – is short lived, as a firm hand presses down on his shoulder and a familiar voice orders him to lie still.

“Yen?” he realizes, relief washing through him as he breathes her in. He is lying with his head on what he would guess is her lap, her fingers running through his hair. She is nervous, he realizes with the barest hint of a smile, and she’s trying to soothe them both.

“Were you expecting someone else?” she asks, and though he can easily imagine her raised eyebrows and the curve of her mouth, her voice lacks the usual bite. He isn’t sure what happened, but it probably was far from good, to make him think she might have been scared.

“I don’t know,” he says, letting himself sound fond because it’s Yennefer, he knows he can. He kind of wants to as well. “I don’t remember what happened.”

She snorts, her fingers stilling for a few moments. “A basilisk. I got you help in time, but you need to keep the bandage over your eyes to let the medication work. Unless you fancy going blind or close to it, that is.”

Definitely not a good prospect. He supposes he can be a good patient, under the circumstances.

“For how long?”

“Do I look like a doctor to you?”

He huffs. “Right now, you don’t really _look_ like anything to me.” He keeps himself from smiling during the few moments of silence that follow, but it’s made hard to accomplish by the mental image of Yennefer looking at him in that slightly disbelieving way of hers that means she can’t _believe_ he’s being this much of an idiot.

“Very funny,” she eventually says, a little tightly, swatting him in the arm for good measure.

This time, he does smile, even with the pain in his face reverberating through his whole head, even if he thinks his only way of moving right now would be to crawl on his stomach.

Yennefer lightly brushes some hair away from his face, running her fingers through the length of it and eventually pressing her palm against his temple. Her skin is blissfully cool, and he can’t help humming in appreciation.

“You should get some sleep,” she says, her voice somehow softer than her touch. “You will feel better after.”

Though he can appreciate her point, he doesn’t really want to. He wants to stay awake, with her, to let her touch him and soothe him for as long as she’ll be willing. It doesn’t seem like an appealing prospect, to throw it all away on the promise of something as trivial as sleep.

“I will still be here when you wake up,” she adds then, he isn’t sure if because she took a peek at his thoughts or merely because she’s come to know him that well.

“Are you sure?” he can’t help asking, just above a whisper.

The back of her hand trials down his jaw, her thumb beginning to draw circles on his cheek when she stills. “I’m sure,” she only says. “Sleep.”

He can only believe her, and the reassurance is enough to make the idea of letting go immediately more alluring. He realizes he’s drifting as he feels himself go lighter and the world growing more distant, but he still holds onto the feeling of her soothing touch and he remembers that she might be listening.

He tries to think of something pretty to show her, even if everything is already slipping away, and the best thing that he can come up with is the memory of her beautiful smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates comments, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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